So what if we're attacked from both sides?
Charles, mounted on his horse, held his sword across the saddle, surveying the entire battlefield.
His elite troops continued to press upwards, the battering rams with their iron hammers striking the city gate with deafening thuds, and the reserve troops on the city wall were already showing signs of fatigue.
Kakkō were shooting into the sky from the direction of the trade route behind, but the density of the explosions was decreasing, indicating that the advance of the Guard Corps was slowing down.
His forces outnumbered the enemy's several times over. As long as his formation remained intact and time dragged on, the tide of victory would turn in his favor.
He raised his sword again, his voice hoarse yet steady.
"The attacking force continues its assault on the city. All other units, consolidate your formation and move towards the city walls. Construct a circular defense around the siege position and hold your ground. Once they are exhausted, it will be time for our counterattack."
The rebel flags readjusted their direction in the morning breeze, the militia on the flanks began to converge towards the base of the city wall, and the mercenaries reorganized their shield wall, forming a semi-circular defensive circle outside the city wall.
The battering ram continued to pound the gate, and the ladders of the vanguard troops remained propped up on the crenellations.
Charles's tactical intentions were clear: keep attacking the city, tighten the defenses, use the shield wall and numerical superiority to hold off the Guard Corps outside the city, and use the elite troops to continue to put pressure on the city. He couldn't lose either end, and he had to wear down both ends to see who would give up first.
Fate seemed to be on his side; Alubarna couldn't hold on any longer.
A loud crash came from the city gate on the north wall.
After repeated impacts, the cast iron sleeve of the iron-clad oak gate finally gave way and broke off from the sandstone wall. The entire gate, along with the deformed iron bolt, tilted inward and crashed onto the stone slabs of the barbican, kicking up dust several meters high.
The mercenaries outside the north city wall roared deafeningly, short spears in front and scimitars behind, pouring in like a flood bursting its banks through the breach in the city gate.
This marks the first time in Alubarna's centuries-long history that enemy forces have breached the city gates from the front.
Charles witnessed this through his binoculars. His grip on his sword loosened slightly, and he exhaled quickly before turning to the messenger and ordering, "Break through the north gate! Have Fisher push all the remaining mercenaries up there! The spearhead troops continue to maintain pressure; do not split up! The city gate breaking doesn't mean the city has fallen. They still have street fighting and barricades; we cannot let our guard down now!"
Just when he thought victory was in sight, a bucket of cold water was poured on him.
Footsteps sounded from the east.
Several rebel soldiers on the city wall were locked in combat with the defenders. One of them heard footsteps and turned around. He saw a tall figure standing against the light in front of the crenellations. Before he could raise his scimitar, the blade had already slashed across his chest.
Clean and efficient, he moved on to the next move after the first cut, without looking back.
The rebels have dragged on for too long, long enough that Roy has already lifted the siege of the eastern city wall and rushed to reinforce the north.
In the city, street fighting has already begun.
Fisher's mercenaries poured through the breach in the city gate only to be met with crossfire from gunners on the rooftops lining both sides of the street.
They were greeted by makeshift barricades made of sandbags and carts, and scimitars of the garrison soldiers that suddenly appeared from the alleyway.
However, the mercenaries had too many men, and the shield wall pushed forward forcefully. The militia on both flanks moved back from the alleys to encircle the defenders, and the defenders suffered more than half their casualties. The barricades began to retreat.
Fisher stood at the breach in the city gate, his short spear propped in front of him, directing his mercenaries to advance deeper into the alley. Suddenly, he felt something block out the sunlight above him.
A figure leaped straight down from the crenellations of the city wall, landing without even bending his knees, his foot shattering two stone slabs, the shards splashing onto Fisher's boots.
The man stood up, tilted his neck, and his cervical spine made a crisp click. Then he raised his eyes, revealing three Tomoe slowly rotating in his Red Eye.
"Hello," Roy said, then cleaved the nearest mercenary in two with a single stroke.
Fisher's hand holding the spear trembled involuntarily.
He yelled to his left and right, "He's all alone! Surround him! Hold him up with your shields, musketeers, aim!"
The musketeer missed his aim.
Roy moved through the mercenary ranks at a speed completely disproportionate to his size, pausing only before someone's blade had even fallen before he was already in the next position.
His Uchiha Style Swordsmanship differs from Barlow's; it doesn't involve calculating precise trajectories or striving to minimize the impact on vital points. Instead, it employs a crushing, overwhelming style that leaves opponents in despair.
Each strike was amplified by Chakra; one strike hit a heavy shield, sending both shield and man flying; a backhand strike severed the wooden handle of a short spear, slicing across the spearman's chest in the process.
He walked through the crowd, chopping as he went, counting as he went. "Seven, eight, nine—"
Fisher gripped his short spear tightly, staring at the figure charging through the crowd, veins bulging on the back of his hand, but his feet remained rooted to the spot.
Charles was unaware that the eastern city wall had been cleared.
Through the telescope, the rebel flags were still visible on the east city wall, the smoke had not yet dissipated, and the figures of the defenders and rebels were still swaying in the smoke, making it impossible to determine the situation.
"The situation is still at a stalemate; Roy probably hasn't gotten away yet."
He put down his binoculars and took the latest batch of transfer orders from his adjutant.
What he needs most right now is not troops, but time.
If we hold out a little longer, the city gates will have already been breached. As long as we continue to pour troops in, the defenders inside the city will eventually be worn down by street fighting.
If the Guard Corps can close the encirclement before the city collapses, there is still a chance to turn the tide of the battle. He can use his numerical advantage to stall for time until victory.
But the Uchiha Security Force's encirclement was slowly taking shape, like a noose tightening step by step, a sign of despair.
The Guard Corps advanced northward from the trade route, stopping at each rebel position they captured and instead constructing makeshift fortifications on the spot. They piled up sandbags, set up fire pylons, and only moved on to the next location after confirming that no rebels had escaped behind them.
Their advance was slow, but no rebel force could hold out against them for more than a short time.
The gaps in the encirclement were gradually shrinking, and the Guard Corps commander seemed in no hurry at all, as if he were slowly closing the net at an almost leisurely pace.
Charles watched the encirclement advance on the map and felt a chill rise up his spine for the first time.
He took a deep breath and drew his sword from its sheath once more.
He had no way out. The elite troops were fighting a war of attrition, Fisher's mercenaries were making slow progress at the North Gate, and the militia were beginning to collapse under the pressure of the Guard Corps.
His only option now is to withdraw the elite troops from the city walls and concentrate them at the weakest point in the Guard Corps's encirclement to force a breakout.
"Withdraw the vanguard and concentrate in the rear. Break through the narrowest part of the Guard Corps's encirclement to open up the situation. Fisher will continue to apply pressure at the north gate to cover the main force's breakout."
His sword drew an arc in the air, its blade gleaming coldly in the morning light.
"After breaking through, immediately contact the garrisons in other areas and have them reinforce Alubarna from both sides simultaneously to cooperate with our counter-encirclement Guard Corps. Don't they like to besiege others? Let's encircle them too."
The messenger mounted his horse.
Charles picked up the Den Den Mushi, dialed the frequency of the Yuba garrison, and the Den Den Mushi's eyes lit up, its eyeballs rolled, and then the call connected.
"Yuba garrison, this is Charles. Reinforcements are needed outside Alubarna. I order you—"
Charles hadn't noticed the change in the Den Den Mushi's expression until the voice came from its Den Den Mushi —calm, restrained, and carrying a kind of unhurried authority.
"I am Vice Admiral Uchiha Damian."
Charles's sword clattered to the gravel ground.
Only then did he realize what a mistake it was to go against the Uchiha.